Talking Points Food & Agribusiness | 17/01/2018

Talking Points Food & Agribusiness | 17/01/2018

In today’s talking points, China’s corn supply gap expected to expand, Northern Australia launches initiatives to boost mango exports to China, and South Australia stone fruit growers are facing severe loss due to the extreme temperatures, and drought has caused one million fish dead in east Australia.

China’s Corn Supply Gap Expected to Expand

China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has projected a bigger supply gap of corn from October 2018 to September 2019 than a year earlier.

Corn output for the period is expected to shrink 0.7 percent year on year to 257 million tonnes, while consumption will rise 5.5 percent to 285 million tonnes, according to a report by the Chinese Agriculture Outlook Committee, an advisory body under the ministry.

In breakdown, corn used as animal feed will expand 3.5 percent year on year to 178 million tonnes, while industrial consumption of corn will increase 12.7 percent year on year to 84.5 million tonnes.

From October 2017 to September 2018, China’s corn output reached 259 million tonnes, down 1.7 percent year on year, while its consumption grew 4.4 percent to 270 million tonnes.

During that period, the country’s net corn import stood at 3.45 million tonnes, according to the report.

Northern Australia launches initiative to boost the export of mango, this initiative led by the Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia (CRCNA), involving Australia’s leading Calypso mango exporter Perfection Fresh (Perfection), the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) and the University of Queensland (UQ).

Key to the new strategy will be moving from airfreight to sea freight. Northern Territory project manager Sally Leigo from the CRCNA indicated that a number of new mango plantations being established in the region have prompted the industry to look for new and innovative export avenues.

“A key with mangoes is making sure they don’t ripen too quickly during the transportation process, ” Leigo said the success of the project will mean Chinese consumers are able to enjoy even more of this coveted fruit counter-season to their own market. The project is expected to be completed by mid-2021.

South Australia Stone Fruit Growers are Facing Severe Loss Due to the Extreme Temperatures

“Many growers were losing their fruit to ‘stone burn’ due to the heat” according to dried tree fruits Australia chairman Kris Werner. The stone burns them, which means they burn on the inside, they become squashy and you cannot use them. The expected extreme temperature may up to 46-47℃.

Stone fruit packer Dino Cerrachi said he is racing against the clock, trying to pick up the fruit as much as they can before the heat cooks them. He also mentioned he had tried to increase the workforce to get more fruit off the tree, but struggled to find experienced worker. However, Dino still suffered a loss of 25-30 per cent for some of their varieties due to the extreme heat.

“Now their concern is moving to next season, the shortage of water means the part of the land isn’t being watered anymore, so it’s only going to make the temperatures get hotter,” Mr Werner said.

The past Monday it was believed that around one million fish in the Murray-Darling River died due to the continuous heatwave and drought in New South Wales. Experts predict the situation could go worse as the heatwaves are ongoing.

New South Wales state minister Niall Blair said the fish deaths could be “across part of the far west and Northern Tablelands this week”, as South China Morning Post reports. The state on Tuesday announce to pump oxygen into the river to sustain fish that are still alive.

Academics said the fish deaths are also caused by over extraction of water in rivers. Prime Minister Scott Morrison described the fish deaths as an ecological disaster.